Shoe-lace fastener



Patented Sept. 6, |898.

M. L. 4BYEHSi SHOE LACE FASTENEB.

(Applicatinn led'Sept. 9, 1897.)

(N0 Model.)

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iINTTnD STATES PATENT Fries..

MARTIN LUTHER RrERs, or HAenRsTowN, MARYLAND.

SHOE-LACE FASTE'NER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters `Patent No. 610,225, dated September 6, 18981.

Appncaionnedseptembas,1897. seriuntlnoie. (nomas.)

To ctZZ whom t may concern,.-

Beit known that I, MARTIN LUTHER BYERs, a citizen of the United States, residing at HaV gerstown, in the county of Washington and State of Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Shoe-Lace Fasteners; and I do hereby declare the lfollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to shoe-lace fasteners; and the object in View is to providea simple device for preventing the slipping and loosening of the lace.

It is also the object of this invention to so construct the fastener that the leather or material of the shoe or boot itself will act as one of the opposing surfaces for frictio'nally clasping the lace by spring-pressure of said leather interposed between the body of the fastener and the bent inner portion. The improved fastener is also constructed so that it will form a sort of pocket to receive the lace at either side of the shank of the fastener.

The detailed objects and advantages of the invention will fully appear in the course of the subjoined description.

The invention consists in certain novel features and details of construction and arrangement of parts, as hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the drawings, and incorporated in the claim hereto appended.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure lis a perspective view of a sufficient portion of a shoe to illustrate the application of the improved shoe-lace fastener thereto. Fig. 2 is a detail perspective view of one of the fasteners per se. Fig. 3 is an enlarged section taken longitudinally of the fastener and extending through the leather. Fig. 4: is a similar view.

' showing also the lace in section and the manwith the improved fastener, which will now be described.

The improved fastener (designated at 6) is constructed from a single piece of spring metal in the form of an oblong strip. This strip is approximately straight at its central portion 7, and the terminals thereof are re curved or bent back upon said portion 7 and underneath the same, as shown at 8, until they meet at the point 9,whence they are eX- tended in a direction transverse or at right angles to the portion '7, so as to form prongs or end portions, which may be extended through an opening in the shoe. After the terminals or prongs are inserted through said opening Lthe extremities thereof are curved in opposite directions, as shown at IO, to form concaved portions or pockets, into which the leather of the shoe is adapted to be pressed by the lace when the Vlatter is inserted under the head of the fastener and wound around the shank. The extreme end portions Il of the Shanks or prongs are then bent so as to lie flat against the leather upon the inner side thereof.

The oppositely-extending portions of the head are inclined slightly away from the eX terior surface of the shoe, so as to form Wedge shaped entrances for facilitating the insera tion of the lace beneath the ends of the head, thus rendering it an easy matter to insert the lace under the end portions of the head and Wind the same around the shank.

By means of the construction described it will be seen that as the lace is inserted and drawn beneath one of the projecting end por tions of the head it passes by the end portion of the shank or prong and enters the space next to the shank beneath the head, thus deiiecting or pressing the leather into one of the pockets hereinabove referred to. Thus the leather of the shoe is combined with the spring action of the head of the fastener, and at the same time the leather is permitted to yield and be deflected into the pocket in the curved end portion of the shank.

It will thus be seen that I have provided a simple, cheap, and efficient fastener, which may be applied to any shoeV or boot employing a lace. The fasteners may of course be :made in anysize `and of any suitable material and may be applied to the shoe either in ICG the course of manufacture or at any subsequent time.

It Will of course be understood that the fastener may be given any desired ornamental finish and that other changes in the form, proportion, and minor details of construction may be resorted to Without departing from the principle or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

Having thus described the invention,what is claimed as new, and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is-

As an improved article of manufacture, the Within-described shoe-lace fastener, comprising the straight portion and inner portions 

